Russia keeps troops on Ukraine's borders, NATO needs to stay vigilant - Stoltenberg

NATO needs to stay vigilant, as Russia keeps a large military presence in and around Ukraine even after the announcement that it will withdraw its troops from Ukraine's borders, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

He said this before a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on defense issues, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We will also discuss Russia, and the pattern of aggressive Russian behavior, from dangerous intelligence operations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, but also the significant military build-up in and around Ukraine. We have seen some reduction in the number of Russian troops, but tens of thousands remain, and we are also seeing that Russia has kept a lot of weapons…and equipment, and they're also imposing restrictions in the Black Sea, including restricting access to the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait, and therefore NATO needs to stay vigilant and closely monitor the developments," Stoltenberg said.

He stressed that Russia had the largest number of troops in and around Ukraine since the recent increase in tensions in 2014.

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